


Top 10 Anime Meet-cutes.

by bidachii



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blushing, First Meetings, Gen, Humor, M/M, Manga & Anime, Meet-Cute, Slice of Life, the power of anime helps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28817535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bidachii/pseuds/bidachii
Summary: Okay, so Jisoo might have found what theactualproblem with clubs was. The problem was none of them was this club. The clock struck twelve in the midnight, and suddenly a projector screen unrolled right behind the DJ booth. Jisoo did not think much about it at first, until he took a metaphorical arrow in the knee as a suspiciously very familiar song was heard throughout the room.Guren no Yumiya?!
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua & Jeon Wonwoo, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Jeon Wonwoo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45
Collections: Seventeen Rare Pair Fest: 2 Rare 2 Pair





	Top 10 Anime Meet-cutes.

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SVTRarePairFest2](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SVTRarePairFest2) collection. 



> firstly, let me thank the admins/moderators of this fic fest! thank you for having this fest, thank you for giving the chance for rarepairs to shine!
> 
> secondly, thank you s for helping me look over this fic ;; love you! ♥
> 
> i had fun writing this! there were times when i thought of just giving up due to not writing for a while before this fic, but the prompt really, _really_ spoke to my kokoro. and it's wonshua ;; so i definitely wanted to finish this, no matter what!
> 
> i'm still forever lacking, but i hope you will enjoy reading this! have fun finding all the meme/inside joke references 👀

The problem with clubs was that Jisoo did not hate them. He actually enjoyed meeting new people, strangers who had interestingly different stories than him. Even so, he was also someone who treasured his alone time.

Tonight was one of those moods. After a speedy return from work, Jisoo had a long, relaxing bath complete with bath salt and an aromatic candle. He had planned to have a glass of wine while surfing the internet, but then everything changed when one _kakao_ from a certain Yoon Jeonghan attacked his peaceful night.

😈 YJH 😈  
_picking u up in 30, be pretty_ 😘

Oh how he was tempted to say no or pretend not to have seen it. Jeonghan would come anyway, and he would not hesitate to drag Jisoo to the club and back home. Yes, Jeonghan was a great friend who had brilliant ideas at times. Although seemingly flippant, Jeonghan would always do anything once he had set his mind on it.

Jisoo was unlucky to be his target tonight.

(But of course he would not miss the chance to be cheeky and reply with _30 decades? yes please thanks._ )

The problem with clubs was that Jisoo did not hate them. The one Jeonghan brought him to was just one that Jisoo had never been to before. The lighting was dim and the bass was loud, but there was no Junhui at the bar and no Hansol at the turntable.

Jeonghan caught Jisoo’s wandering gaze, chuckled, then gently tugged his arm. “Come, I’ll get drinks for us. I just _know_ you’re gonna love this place.”

To be honest, Jisoo had no idea how Jeonghan knew that. This club looked like any other clubs – there was nothing really remarkable about it. Well, maybe the number of booths and tables was plenty more than usual, but aside from that? Jisoo saw nothing, as far as his eyes could make out.

When their drinks were ready, Jeonghan grabbed them and led Jisoo to a booth at the back of the club where they could see most of the floor. While walking, he saw a splash of bright screen in his peripheral, and he reflexively took a glance.

He almost twisted his neck with his double-take.

He thought it was a phone, but no. It was a Nintendo Switch. _Someone actually brought a Nintendo Switch to a club_ , he thought, whether in awe or in astonishment. And—wait, he recognized that eyepatch and blond hair—

_IS THAT DIMITRI FROM FIRE EMBLEM?!_

Jisoo’s brain almost short-circuited right there, his expression most likely incredulous. His fingers twitched, itching to reach out and poke the person playing because Fire Emblem was one of Jisoo’s most favorite game titles in the world and none of his friends _understood_. He probably would have done so were it not for someone’s glare nearly burning a hole through him. The guy sitting right across the person with the Switch was glaring at him, piercing under the cool blue lights. Jisoo flinched a little, gave an awkward smile, then sped toward Jeonghan without sparing them another look.

“Someone caught your eyes already?” his best friend snickered after Jisoo took a seat. Jisoo shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. It was fruity, though not too strong with the alcohol.

“Saw someone with a Switch playing Fire Emblem,” he said and took his phone out, intending to _tweet_ out the most exciting experience at the club so far in full-on capital letters, “he was probably playing the Blue Lions’ route, but I didn’t see much because his friend glared at me.”

Jeonghan laughed loudly, blanketed by the reverberating _thump-thump-thump_ while Jisoo took to glaring at his phone instead. “Nerd,” Jeonghan said, voice fond.

A pout unconsciously formed on Jisoo’s lips, but he said nothing, only scrolling through his _Twitter_ feed. Jeonghan shook his head and scooted closer.

“How’s work lately? Anything fun?”

“Ugh.” It was the perfect summary for Jisoo’s job, really. “Too many deadlines to meet and not enough time to finish. My team’s overworked and people still think translating documents is easy. Like, why do they think it’s okay to send us work-related emails after work hours with sixty-something-page documents attached and say _need these in three days_? And then still dare complain when there's a slight error?”

Jeonghan snorted. “I get it. Most of my clients demand ridiculously grandiose stuff but never have the budget for it. When we’ve done the best we could within the budget, they’d either accept calmly or throw a tantrum about how we can’t meet their expectations. Uhm, maybe don’t ask for a thousand revisions if you don’t wanna put out more money?”

The two of them simultaneously heaved a deep sigh before clinking their glasses with each other.

“To bosses who need supervision themselves.” Jeonghan raised his glass. Jisoo followed.

“To entitled clients who _obviously_ know better than us.”

Okay, so Jisoo might have found what the _actual_ problem with clubs was. The problem was none of them was this club. The clock struck twelve in the midnight, and suddenly a projector screen unrolled right behind the DJ booth. Jisoo did not think much about it at first, until he took a metaphorical arrow in the knee as a suspiciously very familiar song was heard throughout the room.

_Guren no Yumiya?!_

Jisoo paused in the middle of the dance floor, awkwardly standing there for people to bump into. Jeonghan had made himself scarce earlier, answering a call with an extremely disgusted look, so there was no chance for him to make fun of Jisoo’s excitement.

The first opening song of _Shingeki no Kyojin_ kept flowing, but it was as if no one cared. No, it was as if _this was a regular thing_. Jisoo’s brain went on overdrive while gaping at the screen that was currently playing the legendary _anime_. Seeing Levi _heichou_ at a club sure felt… different. Not scary though, now that Jisoo thought about it. He felt maybe Levi would understand why one would need to be inebriated sometimes, deep in his heart. Okay, that just became his headcanon about his favorite _heichou_.

In-between Eren suddenly transforming into a Titan and Jisoo’s feet almost being trampled on for the hundredth time, he finally moved to the outer layer of the sea of people where the crowd was thinner. With a grumble, he narrowed his eyes at Mikasa, even though she did nothing wrong – Jisoo was just not amused that his anime time was disturbed.

… Well. Not that clubs were a place to watch anime, anyway.

But apparently he was not the only one intently gluing his eyes onto the screen. Noticing movements from the corner of his eyes, Jisoo turned to his right and promptly raised an eyebrow.

 _Wow, there's actually another otaku here_ , he thought, staring. He was still unsure whether playing _anime_ was normal at this club or not, though the guy beside him did not seem as bewildered as he was at seeing Armin. _Maybe it really is a regular thing?_

“Are you team Eruri or team Ereri?”

The question was too sudden that Jisoo’s neck hurt from how quickly he did a double take. “Wha—?”

“I actually like both, but Ereri is obviously the bigger ship here…” The other guy continued, unbothered, putting fingers against his chin in a thinking pose. “... But maybe I just want to see Levi topping Eren sometimes, you know?”

 _My God, this guy’s a fudanshi, what a coincidence_. Jisoo actually did not know whether he should laugh in victory or cry from the sense of camaraderie. It felt as if it had been a really long time since he had had someone he could talk about _anime_ and _manga_ with. No wonder, with how busy he was as a functioning part of the society. He loved doing translations, but reading endless pages of official documents did questionable wonders to his sanity sometimes. If one of these days Kenshiro suddenly appeared in front of him saying _omae wa mou shindeiru_ , he would not be surprised.

“I don’t really care, as long as you have fun with your ships.” Jisoo shrugged, and maybe he took a minute too long to reply because he was trying to figure out how to say _actually I like the combination of those three the most_ without sounding like a desperate rareshipper. Not a good impression to give someone he just met.

The guy laughed, finally glancing at Jisoo. Jisoo’s heart stuttered. “Personally, that’s the number one rule in my fandom life.”

After that, they continued to stand side by side, watching the rest of the _Shingeki no Kyojin_ episode in silence. Jisoo might have stolen a few glances to see the other guy’s reactions – though that would be a poor excuse to stare. For some reason, however, his face structure was somewhat familiar.

"Is there something on my face?"

Jisoo, honest to God, almost jumped a few steps back at the second sudden question. Did this guy have a knack for catching him off guard or what?

"No, no, I'm sorry, I just didn't expect to find someone who shares the same hobby as me at a club, of all places…"

To that, the guy only smiled and did not respond, as if there was a secret that he was not willing to share. Jisoo hoped it was not a red flag.

"My name is Jeon Wonwoo." The guy—Jeon Wonwoo offered his hand for a shake. Jisoo shook it partly out of reflex. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Hong Jisoo."

“Wanna go sit together? If you’re okay with it, of course.”

Jisoo thought about it for a moment – sure, he would like to talk more about his fandom life, and this guy seemed nice enough. He just would have to take care not to carelessly accept a random drink or leave his phone and wallet somewhere vulnerable. Checking his phone for messages from Jeonghan, he found none, so he nodded at the offer.

He was led toward a booth in a more secluded corner, where there was better lighting. His feet were half-dead by now from how long he was standing on the dance floor. As soon as they sat down, Jisoo narrowed his eyes at Wonwoo who was typing on his phone.

“Now I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before. Your face is really familiar, but I just don’t know where- At a convention, maybe…?”

Wonwoo chuckled. “Probably, yeah. I recognize your face, though. You cosplay under the name _Joshua_ , right?”

At the question, Jisoo’s eyes widened in surprise. This night just kept going against all of his _keikaku_.

“I do, yeah. I’m amazed you knew.”

“One of my friends is a fan of yours,” Wonwoo said, smiling a little, “and he’s begging me to cosplay again next convention, but I’m still undecided on who to cosplay.”

“Wait- you cosplay too?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes. And I don’t really put too much effort, either. Last time I cosplayed Sakamoto, I got praised a lot, though I don’t know why.”

 _… Isn’t it because you look almost exactly like him?_ he wanted to say, but pursed his lips shut tightly.

“How about you, though? Do you already know whom you’ll be cosplaying as?”

Jisoo hummed in thought, playing with his fingers. “I’m still undecided between Grimnir or Lamorak from Granblue Fantasy.”

Wonwoo stared at him for a beat before nodding. “You’ll look good as either. They’re both pretty.”

What he meant by that, Jisoo had no idea, but he could feel the blush that was creeping onto his cheeks. However, before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by some newcomers. The newcomers were Wonwoo’s friends, it turned out, and they were quite the lively bunch.

Except maybe the one openly staring at him with a frown from across the table.

Wonwoo, who was sitting beside him after being made to scoot over multiple times, introduced Jisoo to his friends. The Frowning One was Lee Jihoon; his frown evolved into a full-blown glare when Wonwoo off-handedly mentioned that he was WooziP, a famous Vocaloid producer in the Korean community. Of course Jisoo knew and was a fan – he even bought WooziP's latest album, _Universe Factory_. He told Jihoon just that, and for some reason Jihoon averted his eyes. Maybe… he was shy?

In the midst of talking, drinking, texting Jeonghan about his whereabouts and discussing the latest episode of _Jujutsu Kaisen_ , Jisoo noticed Wonwoo grab a bag and pull out a—

_… Hold on._

“You brought a Switch,” he deadpanned, staring at the Animal Crossing-themed console, “to a club.”

Wonwoo only chuckled. “Yeah, I actually didn’t want to come here tonight because I wanted to focus on grinding with my Blue Lions students, but Jihoon threatened not to include my lyrics in WooziP’s upcoming Japanese album.”

Jisoo tilted his head, blinking. There was a lot to process, including but not limited to WooziP's album. Firstly, the Nintendo Switch. It was his first time coming to this club, but already he had seen two people with a Switch. _Do people just bring their Switch to clubs? Or is it just this one?_ Secondly, _WooziP's Japanese album? Not Korean?_ The information that caught his attention the most, though, was…

"You're doing the Blue Lions route?"

"Mmhm. I've done all the others. Saving the best for the last."

He felt like if there was a butterfly around him, he would point at it and say, _is this a man after my own heart?_

The giddiness he felt, the sudden elation spreading from his chest, all threatened to escape his throat and produce a scream, yet Jisoo persevered; he bit onto his lower lip even as it trembled in excitement. He did not want to go as far as claiming he had found his soulmate. He just did not want to regret not trying to talk to this man more. And probably not only about _anime_ or _manga_ , but also about so many more topics. At the very least, they could become friends.

Jisoo was already opening his mouth to take a leap of faith when a _very_ familiar voice trilled beside him.

“Shua-yah~ There you are~”

As usual, Yoon Jeonghan had the best timing in the whole universe. That was sarcasm, of course. Perhaps the universe itself was conspiring against him?

Jeonghan’s eyes swept over everyone at the booth, his brilliant smile never wavering as he nodded at them in greeting. “Sorry, Shua, I suddenly got a call from my boss and had to borrow the club manager’s computer for a bit. But now I really gotta go home.”

Ah. Being forced to work even outside of work hours. Relatable.

“Can’t be helped,” Jisoo sighed, sliding out of the booth and standing up. Jeonghan really looked apologetic, anyway. Turning to Wonwoo, he gave an apologetic smile of his own. “Thanks for accompanying me, I had fun.”

Wonwoo shrugged for the nth time in Jisoo’s presence. He seemed to do that a lot. “No problem. I had fun, too, really.”

“I’ll see you next convention?” Jisoo smiled. Wonwoo nodded.

_That’s it then, I guess._

Jisoo straightened before bowing slightly to Wonwoo’s friends. All four of them waved, even Jihoon, whose gaze was not as piercing as it was before. He followed Jeonghan toward the exit. His feet were dragging, his shoulders were drooping. Would they even meet again at the next Comic Con? Without knowing which day they were planning to attend? In the middle of a crowd surely a lot bigger than this club's? Maybe… Maybe this was really it. Maybe he really should not have expectations. Reality worked differently from fiction, anyway. Jisoo would go back to his mundane life, Wonwoo would go back to his and they would never see each other again...

“Jisoo-sshi!”

It felt as if his heart was about to escape his chest, hearing his name being called in a loud voice like that. Jisoo turned around, his eyes widening when he saw Wonwoo before him. It was the third time he shocked Jisoo tonight.

“Sorry, I, uh…” Wonwoo fiddled with something in his hands, but Jisoo was too focused on his face and his minutely changing expressions. “I- Could you give me your _kakao_ , please?” When Jisoo did not immediately respond, Wonwoo cleared his throat before continuing. “I enjoyed talking to you, and would love to have the opportunity to talk more. But if you’re not comfortable with giving your contact to strangers, then that’s fine too, I won’t take it personally.”

Jisoo did not know if Wonwoo could see it, but Jisoo’s face was definitely, completely red right now. What was with that confession-like way of asking for a person’s contact?

“I’ll block you as soon as I feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable, without warning.” Jisoo relented, thankful for his steady voice. Wonwoo visibly brightened as he agreed with an enthusiastic _yes, of course!_

After getting his phone back, now with Jisoo’s newly added _kakao_ ID, Wonwoo wished him a good night and went back to his friends – the throng of bodies soon covering Wonwoo’s figure feeling like a curtain closing after a stage play.

 _This kind of denouement_ , Jisoo mused with a small smile, feet moving again at Jeonghan’s voice calling him, _maybe isn’t bad at all, for today_.

“So? Did you get his number?”

Wonwoo’s legs gave up as soon as he arrived back to his booth, ungracefully flopping onto the sofa. His heart was beating so quickly and he was pretty sure his face was burning by now. He managed a weak nod at Jihoon’s question. His friend rolled his eyes.

“Can’t believe you told us to come back here so you wouldn’t be weird with him _gracing you with his presence_.”

“That’s because I couldn’t- still can’t believe that he came _here_ ,” Wonwoo defended himself, still weak, “I come here with you guys all the time but never once did I see him here.”

So maybe Wonwoo had a _small_ crush on Jisoo. Well, Joshua. Ever since Wonwoo saw him cosplaying Lucilius at Seoul Comic Con last year, he had been a fan. The friend he told Jisoo was a fan of his? That was Wonwoo. He was ‘friend.’ No one was begging him to cosplay at the next convention, that was all him. He was hoping to see Joshua again.

“Yeah, yeah. By the way, he’s the one I said was staring over your shoulder when you were grinding Fire Emblem earlier.”

If _?!?!?!_ could be expressed in sounds, that was the exact thing Wonwoo was saying. Then he groaned, rubbing his face with a hand. “I really missed that?? Maybe I shouldn’t have brought my Switch today…”

Jihoon lifted a lazy shoulder. “Not judging you.”

“Someone who repeatedly asked the club manager to play _anime_ every Friday, Saturday and Sunday doesn’t have the right to judge me anyway.”

The sole retort he got from Jihoon was the narrowing of his eyes which he ignored in favor of sending a text to Jisoo: _this is wonwoo. thanks again for tonight. hope you wouldn’t mind teaching me some know-hows to cosplay. sweet dreams_ 🌠

With a trembling finger, Wonwoo pressed the send button and released a long, possibly dreamy sigh. The reply came almost instantly, making Wonwoo nearly drop his phone on the floor.

Jisoo ✨  
_of course, it’ll be my pleasure! sweet dreams to you too!_ 😘

That emoji? It had the same effect as countless fireworks that were lit right in front of his face. If this was an _anime_ , his head would have exploded from how red it was. He could do nothing except dropping his face onto the table, his arms stretched forwards as if his phone was a sacrificial offering to everything that was holy.

Jihoon plucked Wonwoo’s phone from his limp hands, took a look at Jisoo’s message, then stared at Wonwoo still hiding his face against the table, deadpan.

“Even the coldest-looking man burns when he is put on fire.”

Somewhere in the distance, in a car, there was a man screaming _I USED THE WRONG EMOJI–_

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i'm sorry i couldn't mention all the other svt members ;; let me know if you managed to find all the references! :>


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